As the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to implement a new version of its community care program, lawmakers will also debate whether VA is spending too much on private care at the expense of other agency priorities.

“We’ve got to stop the VA from pulling the rug out from under veterans and their families.”

Under current law, VA officials can withhold 100 percent of a veteran’s monthly benefits to cover past overpayments, even if those mistakes are the fault of federal officials.

The new legislation would limit that withholding to no more than 25 percent of a monthly benefits check and put a five-year limit on the time where VA officials can recover overpayments. The measure would not wipe out all debts related to VA mistakes

Tinnitus continues to rank in the top 10 disabilities claimed by veterans. It’s no wonder there’s a lot of boom boom in our line of business, so here are posts and information I think you may find helpful. VA Fast Letter 10-35 Modifying the Development Process in Claims for Hearing Loss […]

There is a whole set of rules that helps the VA decide how far back in time to go to pay retroactive benefits. These rules are called the effective date rules, and there are hundreds of them. There are a few general guidelines….it’s not all the rules for every effective date for every type of VA Disability Claim, but it should give you an idea how much you have NOT been told about VA disability benefits over the years.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America published a statement late Tuesday that warned the budget isn’t sufficient, given the multiple, expensive initiatives underway at the agency.

The plan doesn’t include enough funding for medical services, community care, infrastructure, medical research or the support program for veteran caregivers, they wrote.

Specifically, they argued there’s not enough to implement the VA Mission Act, major reform legislation Congress approved last year. The new law aims to expand veterans’ access to private doctors and extend benefits to more veteran caregivers.

“Unless Congress acts to substantially increase VA’s funding for FY 2020, veterans will be forced to wait longer for care, whether they seek care at VA or in the community, leaving unfulfilled the promises made to veterans in the VA Mission Act,” the groups wrote.

The Trump administration’s multipronged effort to privatize the VHA and push millions of veterans out of the VA system remains deeply unpopular among American veterans. But rather than adjust its proposals to meet the needs and wishes of veterans, the administration has a better idea: deny that the changes—which include funding private care at taxpayer

As the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to implement a new version of its community care program, lawmakers will also debate whether VA is spending too much on private care at the expense of other agency priorities.

President Donald Trump is proposing another big increase in Veterans Affairs spending for fiscal 2020 — but also reintroducing a controversial cost-savings measure that veterans groups have long opposed.

The increased VA spending — up to $216 billion, an increase of $19 billion or 9.5 percent from fiscal 2019 — comes as a host of non-defense programs face steep cuts in the budget proposal. The Departments of Transportation, Education, Energy and State all face double-digit funding cuts under the president’s plan, which is already facing fierce opposition from Democrats in Congress.

“You need that combination of someone with the technical expertise, but also the policy knowledge, and [recruit] that person for a price they’re willing to accept,” he told Nextgov. “They’re usually very valuable in the ... job market, so finding that person who wants to have this be their work is my challenge.”

Veterans Affairs faces problems with tech on multiple fronts, but the EHR modernization stands out as one of its most significant challenges. The agency has tried and failed multiple times to overhaul its outdated VistA platform, and less than a year into the most recent attempt, the project is already running $350 million over budget and could grow even more expensive as it proceeds.

According to senior administration officials, the new order will give agency officials a year to develop plans for a more aggressive approach to suicide prevention, with a goal of more state and local community engagement.

The task force will look to develop a new grant system for mental health support and outreach similar to the Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing program, which provides funding directly to local charities and city programs to help individualize assistance plans for veterans

GAO on Wednesday declared VA contracting, which topped $26 billion in 2017, is a “high risk” area of government, susceptible to waste and mismanagement of taxpayer money and in need of more oversight. The GAO, a leading government watchdog agency, presented a biennial report to the House Committee on Oversight and […]

Federal union officials accused the Veterans Affairs Department of undermining its own health care system by not filling thousands of open department health positions while they push new rules covering more medical appointments at private-sector hospitals.

But VA officials dismissed the criticism as unfounded, since the department completed more appointments than ever before last fiscal year and has kept staff vacancy rates below comparable industry standards.

At issue are nearly 49,000 empty posts within VA, just under 12 percent of the 420,000-plus jobs there.

Veterans awarded the Purple Heart medal for wounds in combat will receive top priority for their claims with the Veterans Affairs Department, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie announced Tuesday.

Beginning in April, veterans with the Purple Heart medal will be placed in the department’s top-priority category for disability benefit claims, along with Medal of Honor recipients and those with severe, service-related disabilities.

Budget debates for 2019 just ended and congressional appropriators are on to 2020. Lawmakers looking at the Department of Veterans Affairs see an agency still reeling with change. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the agency is in the middle of one of the greatest transformations in the department's history.

“VA will need a sustainable funding stream that continues to support core VA programs, and I absolutely do not want to see community care funded at the expense of traditional VA medical services,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, said at a Tuesday hearing.

VCP, which started in 2014, gave vets the option of choosing a private doctor if VA care was too slow or too far away.

It has had mixed results, says Iraq vet Kayla Williams, who has been waiting for an appointment with a specialist.

"I was notified recently that they have not been able to find any providers in the D.C. metro region who are willing to accept the Medicare rates that Choice uses," she said.

VCP has gotten a reputation for paying providers late and confusing everyone with red tape. Williams' experience has been frustrating, even though she knows the ropes: She's not only a vet, but she's also a former official at VA and currently directs a program on veterans at the Center for a New American Security.

An asset review commission is set for 2022, but VA officials are considering moving quicker on the work.

The idea of a base-closing-style round for VA has been controversial for many advocates, including lawmakers who could see major hospitals in their districts closed due to dwindling patient numbers.

But VA officials have repeatedly warned that their current national footprint includes hundreds of outdated or obsolete facilities, and department administrators have severe restrictions in managing those location...

The eligibility criteria and final standards, which were based on VA’s analysis and research, are expected to go into effect in June. They are based on average drive time and appointment wait times. Among VA’s proposed changes:

• Appointment wait-time standards of 20 days for primary care, mental health care and non-institutional extended care services; and 28 days for specialty care from the date of request with certain exceptions.• A 30-minute average drive time standard for primary care, mental health care and non-institutional extended care services. • A 60-minute average drive time standard for specialty care. Veterans who are unable to access care within those standards would be able to choose between eligible community providers and care at a VA medical facility.

Dr. Lerman especially wants to know how the emotional pain experience may be influenced by the vagus nerve, which runs down both sides of our necks from the brainstem to the abdomen. The vagus nerve also plays a critical role in maintaining heart rate, breathing rate, digestive tract movement and many other basic body functions ...

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is launching an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s country club friends had undue influence over Veterans Affairs Department policies or violated any laws.

In a letter to VA officials Friday, committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., said the department needs to turn over dozens of documents by the end of the month to clarify the role of “these individuals who have not served in the U.S. military nor U.S. government, and are not accountable to veterans and the American people.”

The move comes amid increasing tension between the department and members of Congress, and just days after President Donald Trump chastised congressional Democrats in his State of the Union address over investigations.

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